A Breastfeeding Saga |
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| Written by Sally Fallon |
| December 31 2001 |
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When I started out with my family, I was an absolute fanatic about breastfeeding. I knew that breastfeeding was the best way to nourish a growing infant and that commercial formula was junk. I couldn't understand why any mother would give a bottle to her baby. My first child, a girl, was born in 1973. She was very healthy, but cried almost constantly. As a result I nursed her very frequently during her first few months—sometimes as often as every hour. I spent the first few months of her life in utter exhaustion—although I did learn to eat with my left hand, as I often nursed her at mealtimes. Fortunately, my husband's income allowed me to stay at home and I had no other children or duties, so I never had to supplement her diet with formula. I did, however, introduce solid foods fairly early, about four months, and once I did, her crying stopped and I could enjoy her and my life again. Although I never gave her a bottle, she refused the breast at eight months and from that time on I gave her whole milk, with which she had no problems whatsoever. My second child, a healthy boy, was born four years later. Once again, I planned to nurse him whatever it took. I found that I was nursing every half hour per hour—very difficult when you have another child, a husband and a household to take care of. I was absolutely exhausted of course but worse than that, I seemed to have even less milk than before. By the age of one month he had not only stopped gaining weight, but was losing. I had a letdown reflex, but there was very little milk that followed. I tried valiantly for about two weeks—the worst two weeks of my life, but he continued to lose weight. He had a strained, sallow look and I was frantic. My pediatrician was a big advocate for breastfeeding—that's why I chose him—but the only "expert" advice he could give me was to tell me that I was too tense and that I should relax! Yes, indeed, I was tense, tense as only a mother who sees that her baby is hungry can be. Fortunately. . . fortunately I had in my possession a book called Nutrition for Tots to Teens by Dr. Emory Thurston, which contained a recipe for whole milk baby formula. We lived in California at the time and I made up a simple formula of raw milk with lactose added. When I gave this to the baby, he wolfed it down and then smiled for the first time. I knew I had done the right thing. It was only after I informed my pediatrician about giving him the formula, and the baby's reaction to it, that he told me about the Lact-Aid, a device that allowed me to nurse while giving him a supplemental feeding. Had he told me earlier, I could have avoided those awful two weeks when my baby was at risk. Instead, he withheld valuable—no, lifesaving—information from me. With the raw-milk formula given with the Lact-Aid, and the small amount of breast milk that I was producing, the baby thrived. But even though I was now relaxed, and had the stimulation at the nipple, my milk supply did not increase. In fact, by six months, I no longer produced any milk at all and the breastfeeding was over. With the third child, also a boy, the situation was the same. As soon as I could see that he was not satisfied with my breast milk, I hooked up the Lact-Aid with the raw milk formula and he grew by leaps and bounds. He was the biggest of my babies—over nine pounds at birth and fifteen pounds at three months. He had a voracious appetite. By three months, my milk had dried up and I fed him with a bottle. The last child, another healthy boy, was born in France. By that time I had accepted the inevitable, and knowing that the situation would be even more difficult with three other children to look after, I had already scouted out a source of raw milk. I had to start with the raw milk formula and the Lact-Aid at one week. By the age of two months, he had the bottle exclusively and the breastfeeding was over. Now all my children are healthy—they were rarely sick, none needed braces, and all have grown up into high-functioning adults—but the interesting thing is that the last child, who only got two months of breast milk, is the healthiest of all. I am sure it was because of the high quality of the milk in France —from pasture-fed cows. A third of the bottle was beautiful yellow cream. This child has literally never been sick in his life and was the most cheerful of all the children—he is also the smartest and the only one who doesn't need glasses. My second child, although quite healthy, did have some problems with asthma, and still gets hay fever at times. This may be due to the fact that for about a month in his infancy, he did not get adequate nutrition, and I blame myself for being too fanatical about breastfeeding and not supplementing soon enough. My difficulty with breast feeding was indeed a humbling experience and it has given me a great deal of sympathy for mothers who have the same problems. I have never found an adequate explanation for my lack of milk—my diet was relatively good, I did not have a thyroid problem, I did not consume junk foods, I had support at home, my babies were healthy, I had a letdown reflex and no problems with the breasts or nipples. Nevertheless, my milk supply was simply not adequate, certainly not for rapidly growing boys. When I hear the statement that "the vast majority of women can breastfeed successfully," I wonder. One holistic doctor told me that he sees this problem in his practice only very occasionally—perhaps once a year. But I suspect that there are many women like myself who simply do not have adequate milk. The problem is under-reported because these women just give up early, citing fatigue or fussiness in the baby as the reason for switching to bottle feeding. The same situation exists in the animal world—dairymen will tell you that not all cows are good milkers, and with dogs and cats it is the same. When pets have inadequate milk, the pups and kittens are either bottle-fed or they die. The good news is that my babies had no problems on raw-milk formula—they grew up as healthy as children who had been breastfed. In fact, they are healthier than lots of individuals who have been breastfed for many months. One acquaintance of mine breastfed both her children for four years, but otherwise took no care with her diet. These two girls have been unhealthy since infancy. They get frequent colds and have poor bone structure. One is overweight and has learning disabilities. Another friend also nursed several years and in the first year the baby got breast milk exclusively. Her child has multiple health problems—leaky gut syndrome, multiple allergies and learning disabilities. It turns out that when her child was born, she had a gall bladder problem and the doctors put her on a lowfat diet. So her milk did not have adequate fat-soluble vitamins, hence the baby did not have the necessary components to build a healthy gut wall and make connections in the brain. We even have a report of rampant dental decay in a baby who was exclusively breast fed for over a year. The mother was a vegetarian. Pediatric dentistry is the fastest growing medical speciality because of rampant decay in newly erupted baby teeth! We need to keep our eyes on the goal—which is healthy children. Breastfeeding is the best way to accomplish this goal, if the mother has a healthy diet and if her milk supply is adequate. To pretend that all women can breastfeed without difficulty, and that all breast-milk is completely nourishing, does women and their children a great disservice. Let's not withhold information as my pediatrician did when I was having difficulties. Women need to know that there are other options besides commercial formula, and that a healthy supplement can be given to a hungry baby even while he suckles at the breast. Above all, we need to work together to make raw milk from pasture-fed cows universally available so that mothers have a viable alternative to commercial formula. About the Author
She joined forces with Enig again to write Eat Fat, Lose Fat, and has authored numerous articles on the subject of diet and health. Through her New Trends Publishing label, she publishes books on nutrition and health, such as The Fourfold Path to Healing (by Dr. Tom Cowan), Honoring Our Cycles (by Katie Singer), The Untold Story of Milk (by Ron Schmid) and The Whole Soy Story (by Kaayla Daniel). The President of the Weston A. Price Foundation and founder of A Campaign for Real Milk, Sally is also a journalist, chef, nutrition researcher, homemaker, and community activist. Her four healthy children were raised on whole foods including butter, cream, eggs and meat. Â Comments (14)
I agree with Correne (comment above)
written by Michelle G, May 11 2012
Our stories sound almost exactly the same. I tried EVERYTHING. I nursed my first 4 kiddos with only a few issues (the usual - cracked nipples - mastitis etc) baby 5 and 6 were almost "failure to thrive" because I simply did not have enough milk supply. Also - when I nursed (for 3 months even though it was almost hell)it felt like jagged glass was going through my breasts (remember - I'm not a first time mom who just was experiencing "let down") I would sit and cry the entire time. I had blisters that bled and it wasnt due to latch or "tongue tied" issues. I tried fenugreek, mothers milk plus, any tea, supplement, supplemental nursing system, nursing specialists etc. I pray that I someday find out what caused it. Especially if I am ever lucky enough to be blessed with another babe
 For now I am focusing on omegas. organics. grass fed. free range. etc. etc. etc. I pray that this issue comes to light and that more women talk about it - as from what I've heard from other mamas and even lactation consultants - this is COMMON! :*( sad.
mom of 5 girls
written by marika james, Jan 06 2012
A problem I discovered with my last baby is tongue tie, which made her suck ineffective. I believe it was also a problem with my first, but undiagnosed as it was not as obvious. My fifth baby nursed continually, but my milk dried up. Of course the doctor's cure was to send me home with a case of formula, but thankfully because of success and bountiful supply of milk for the others, I did not use the formula. It took several visits to the pediatrician before I convinced him that indeed the tongue tie needed to be taken care of. Once her tongue was loosened by a very minor procedure, nursing went without a hitch and she regained weight in no time. Again, with the tongue tie, nursing just wasn't emptying the breast, so milk production wasn't being stimulated. Tongue ties are not always obvious and as moms, we just must be persistent. I don't know if that was Sally's children's issues, but it is hereditary, and a possibility for others who are having difficulty nursing. I did give my baby home made raw milk formula for about two weeks, to supplement until my milk came back. Hope this info helps some moms and babies.
Somewhere in the middle
written by Jennifer, Dec 04 2011
As I read Cindy's comment I too get the impression that she didn't read the whole article. I also respect what Beth's opinion, but I think there is probably some truth in the middle ground between the article and Beth's perspective. There's a wonderful book about milk supply called A Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk (very original right? lol). I think that supply can both be over and under-abundant. A lot of people mistake over-supply with under supply, ironically. If there is too much milk the baby get way too much lactose- will be very fussy and cranky, and will not be able to get the nourishing hind milk they need (I think Brianne did a wonderful job of expressing this). So people think the baby is constantly fussy and hungry because there isn't enough milk- when ironically there is just way too much foremilk. The only way to know this is to pump after feeding. If the milk is think and a lot of creme rises to the top- then you're in the hindmilk- good news! if the milk is thin and very little creme comes to the top- you either have too much milk or your own diet is deficient in fat. What I want to know is why- with all the "professionals" out there- no one simply tests a woman's milk for nutritional content? wouldn't that really be the best way to find out if we are providing the nutrition we want to our babies? I've been to lactation consultants, pediatricians, etc- I've read several books on the subject now- and what astounds me is that no one has ever simply thought to test an ounce or two of each mother's milk. If we did this as a regular test we would start to get a pretty good idea of what range is acceptable, what can be done to help it when it's not, and when to supplement. I agree that our eye needs to be on healthy children over a specific way of getting there. There are no really good sources of nutritional information out there for nursing moms- or I should say- I'm still looking
 LLL and IBCLC's have all told me "milk is milk"- but this isn't true. I think All mothers' milk is better than commercial formula- but not all milk is equal
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written by Brianne, May 16 2011
Just ran across this article. I found it odd that the author did not mention foremilk or hindmilk. I rarely post comments - but to any mother out there that is having this trouble (as I did with my first child, being a new mother) - you have got to let your child nurse on one side fully (a MINIMUM of 10 minutes), until that breast is completely emptied. The reason this happens is because babies are not getting the fat-laden hind milk. When a baby nurses, the first few minutes they are getting basically sugar water. Around half way through or so, the hind milk (the nutrient and fat dense milk) will start releasing. This is what nourishes your baby. If you are feeding every half hour, your body does not have time to produce this hind milk. All you are feeding your baby is foremilk, which is not even close to fulfilling your child's hunger. Children also need adequate sleep to grow. Feeding every half hour or hour does not provide their bodies enough sleep, which they need to grow. It would be like us getting 3 hours a sleep every night, and only eating sugar laden food - no protein or fats. I would be miserable too.
My first child ate 10-15 minutes a side, took 2 hour naps (on avg.) and ate every 3 hours until 4 months of age, where she went to eating every 4 hours. My second child ate 20 minutes a side, took 2 hour naps, and ate every 3 to 4 hours as well. My third child eats around 8-10 minutes a side and same sleep/eat schedule. Every child is different. Also, if a child only eats on one side during a feeding, that is fine. The only thing that matters is that the child is getting the hindmilk.
Increasing breast milk with homeopathy
written by Erica, Mar 06 2011
Just to add a note (a year or so on from the original writings), historically, there are homeopathic remedies known for helping with this problem of a lack of adequate breast milk. It would depend on the cause which one is used and the individual symptoms exhibited. Breast milk is best - raw whole grass fed goats or small breed cows milk is a great idea to supplement the supply.
Where can I find Dr Emory Thurston's Book
written by Angie Parlionas, Sep 19 2010
Where can I find the book mentioned in this article - Nutrition for Tots to Teens by Dr. Emory Thurston?
response
written by ang, Jul 25 2010
most mothers eat what they think is a healthy diet. but there sre slot of poorly educated and misguided people out there. so if there eating lowfat diets or for example so called healthy ready made meals or healthy choices because thats what marketing and media says is healthy then there milk most likely isnt very nutritional. unfortunatley most people i talk to have no idea what is good for them
Thank You
written by Cherie, Apr 10 2010
First of all, Im not from America. Im from the beautiful land of New Zealand. Im in awe of Sally Fallon's willingness to expose this information while being aware that there are critics out there. I agree with you Sally. I dont believe there is any harm in feeding your baby raw cows milk when you have no other option to nurse your child. In my culture anciently, when woman had their babies they were cared for for at least 6 weeks, so that there full undivided attention was on her recovery from birth and establishing enough milk for her baby, and having that baby establish a good suck etc from the mother. I dont see that happening in our society much anymore. If a mother had other children, then her mother/sister's/sister inlaws/mother inlaws/aunts etc would step in and care for those children while the fathers provided for them. It's unfortunate that we have become such a selfish society where this type of support is not offered unconditionally.
As for myself, I have breastfeed both my babies, but sometimes if I had to attend appointments, I would leave a commercial formula at home with my husband while I was out. I did this ignorantly because I didnt know that these so called "baby formula's" were toxic. Now thanks to Sally Fallon, I've had another look at them and really regret feeding my baby formula during those times. But I am forever grateful that the alternative has been given. So I definitely back you up there sally fallon. In the event that a mother cant breastfeed their baby, then raw cows milk should be the alternative over commercial brands of so called "milk" formula that are primarily designed to fill the pockets of greedy men. Thank you for your wisdom and reserach. In my country, we have beautiful cows milk, and we have never been sick from consuming cows milk. As kids, we were healthy and strong and could run for miles. Perhaps ya'll should get your hands on some "real" cows milk and trial it for a while. Dont buy that trash that they sell in your stores. Honestly, I lived in America for about three years and I was highly insulted when I would see what they would sell in the grocery store. I used to think, "that's not milk, that's just coloured water" It was ridiculous!!! Sally Fallon is right. If you cant produce your own milk, then the next best thing is raw cows milk. Not processed trash that is advertised as good!!!
Response to comments
written by Rozlyn Mignogna, Mar 27 2010
As much as I appreciate your work and point of view, Cindy, you are missing one key element of physiological development: genotype. Due to "civilized" practices during pregnancy, like the use of DES and drugs, lack of ancestral dietary wisdom, and more, some women of this generation just have no chance, no matter how flawless their diet may be. Our grandmother's are responsible for much of our genes because we as eggs are developed when our mothers our in the womb. Even though we can seriously affect genetic expression with dietary and lifestyle practices, we can't completely change the genetic hand we are dealt. Some women sadly cannot breastfeed enough to properly nourish their child. Though your professional work is absolutely wonderful, and I understand since I am a doula and nutritional therapist specializing in women and children's health- and I work in a family practice physician's office, there has to be an alternative for the desperate women who simply can't. I think it would be unwise to reject the scientifically founded, respected, and credible information provided by this culture-changing foundation.
I agree with Cindy
written by Beth, Feb 24 2010
I am very disturbed by this article. I am a breastfeeding counsler and have counseled hundreds of woman and the vast majority of those women, with the right support can produce enough milk. I can't begin to tell you how many women have told me that there milk was drying up at 6 months and just about everytime I am able to pin point what is going on. It usually is because they started solids too early and the baby is eating too much solid food, the baby has a pacifyer so that the non nutrtive sucking is not going on at the breast or the baby is sleeping 12 hours a night with out waking up to nurse (this is too many hours for a human baby to be sleeping at that age.) If these situations are changed amazingly mom produces enough milk. Yes there are women who truly can not produce enough milk but they are few and far between. Insufficent Milk Syndrome is an urban phenomonom. It is rarely found in traditional cultures.
Making enough milk
written by Correne Faysal, Feb 23 2010
I just want to comment on some women not being able to make enough milk. I tried harder than any woman I can think of to make enough milk for my daughter, and at best I could only meet half of her needs. She was born toatlly natural, at home, and began nursing right away. We nursed every hour during the day, and every two hours at night, with me pumping in between! I did this for five weeks with absolutely no increase in milk supply. I also took goat's rue and fenugreek tablets.I had to turn to supplementing and ended up going with an organic, made in the U.S.A brand. My daughter is very healthy, but having to supplement was completley devastating for me. She is now 18 months old and still nurses often. I have been researching traditional diets and have now been incorporating grass fed meats, pastured eggs, and small amounts of organic milk into her diet. I am pregnant again and am so glad to read this article. I never considered making my own formula from raw milk, now I will. Question for Sally if possible, would goat's milk be a good option? I have access to raw goats milk, but not cow.
Moderator Response - check this link for goat milk formula: http://www.westonaprice.org/Re....html#vgmf
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written by RA, Feb 16 2010
Cindy,
Did you not read the article??? The author stated that she preferred to breastfeed but was unable to produce enough milk to satisfy her babies needs. Secondly, the author also concludes that alternatives are needed to commercial formula for women unable to breastfeed. Nowhere in the article did the author advocate using commercial formula. No matter how many times breastfeeding advocates say breast is best, there are some women who, despite their best efforts, are just unable to produce enough breast milk. Period.
Author Should Rethink One Issue written by Cindy, Feb 12 2010
Would the author agree that mass produced formula is better than breastmilk for mothers eating the Standard American Diet? Breatsmilk is best. Period. The breastmilk of a woman on the Standard American Diet is better for her baby than mass produced formula. Our babies are not cows. They need our milk just as baby cows need their mother's milk. Do you really think a mother who is willing to find raw cow milk and make her own formula is eating an unhealthy diet herself? I highly doubt it. If you put that much effort into seeking the most healthy food for your baby, you are probably eating healthy yourself, therefore human breastmilk would be the best choice for your baby. Honestly, I was shocked to see this article on this website. It has changed my thoughts of the other information it provides.
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, April 07 2009 01:35 |
Sally Fallon Morell is the author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats (with Mary G. Enig, PhD), a well-researched, thought-provoking guide to traditional foods with a startling message: Animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels.
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Why Am I Telling You This?
Your story is most likely very different, but if you have ever had problems with low-milk supply, colic, reflux or painful nursing, read on. What our great-grandmothers knew – and what I discovered the hard way – is that tongue and lip ties are common and every child should be checked at birth.
If you’re how we lost the wisdom of our great-grandmothers, it’s simple. Synthetic nipples are easier than breasts for tongue-tied babies to manage, so with the rise of bottle-feeding tongue-tie issues virtually disappeared. Now that breastfeeding is back, we need to reinfuse our culture with awareness about these condition to prevent doctors and parents from miscategorizing common tie-related complications (such as the ones below) under other diagnoses.
•Low milk supply (depending on the severity of the tie a baby may not be able to stimulate milk production through vigorous nursing)
•Painful nursing
•Early weaning because child gets frustrated at the breast
•Tooth Decay – Improper tongue mobility may prevent babies from clearing milk from their mouth, causing decay (especially on the top front teeth)
•Colic, gassiness (inability to maintain suction at the breast means baby swallows a lot of extra air)
•Reflux
•Sleep apnea
•Abnormal sleep patterns (waking often to feed because they are unable to fully drain the breast and therefore always hungry)
•Speech difficulties
•Gap between teeth/jaw issues – tight tissues can prevent normal development
Am I saying that every instance of one of these diagnoses is tongue-tie related. Definitely not. There are legitimate circumstances in which something else is the cause, but ties are easy to check for so why not rule them out?
Here is the link to the website it's from.
http://www.mommypotamus.com/why-our-mothers-shouldnt-have-listened-to-theirs/